Recently, I heard the podcast of a message preached by Tim Keller entitled, “Real Friendship and the Pleading Priest.” (This is in the series The Gospel According to Abraham.) We live in a Western culture, especially as Americans in one of the most individualistic cultures there has ever been. What I mean by an “individualistic… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (12)
Tag: Strengthening the Soul
Strengthening the Soul (11)
Perhaps you’ve heard people say: “We don’t watch that much television.” Well, maybe. The truth is that many of us watch far more television than we realize. In some homes, the television is always on. Literally! The first person who gets up in the morning turns on the television and it may stay on until… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (11)
Strengthening the Soul (10)
This morning I read a fine article by Gordon MacDonald in the November 2010 issue of Leadership (print). The article is entitled “Your Regular Checkup.” Basically MacDonald says that if a yearly physical exam is important for people then so is a periodic “spiritual exam.” Sometimes, after one has a physical exam, the physician will… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (10)
Strengthening the Soul (9)
I really felt ashamed at the end of that day. But, I learned something that I have never forgotten. I was in the fourth grade. “Jane” sat in the chair behind me. She often drooled on her desk. She was blond, lanky, and physically challenged. She had difficulty with coordination and often fell down on… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (9)
Strengthening the Soul (8)
How could we have so much information and so little wisdom? I’ve wondered about this. After all, we sometimes make tragic mistakes in our lives, not because of a lack of information but a lack of wisdom. I just read “Wisdom & God in the Age of Information” by Dean M. Riley. (Riley is Professor… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (8)
Strengthening the Soul (7)
What holds you back? What holds you back from being the kind of person that God has called you to be either as a single or as a married person? What holds some of us back is our own immaturity. We get stuck in particular patterns of immature behavior. Some of these patterns include: 1.… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (7)
Strengthening the Soul (6)
Sometimes life is very difficult and even painful. Some of this pain is due to loss. Do any of these sound familiar to you? The loss of a friend due to a move, a job change, or simply drifting away from one another. The loss of a team. You feel as you are alone on… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (6)
Strengthening the Soul (5)
Do you hesitate about the wrong things? Sometimes we are more hesitant about doing what is right than doing what we know is wrong. In other words, we may hesitate greatly to do what we know God wants us to do, while we hardly pause at some opportunities to do wrong. The itch to sin… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (5)
Strengthening the Soul (4)
The photograph to the right has become one of the best known pictures in US history. The photograph became famous because of Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. The picture was taken as Oswald was being gunned down by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner. This took place on a Sunday… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (4)
Strengthening the Soul (3)
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” As I recall, Socrates said this at his trial for heresy. Socrates was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of their day and instead think for themselves. Fast forward to 2010. The alarm clock rings. It is the beginning of a new day.… Continue reading Strengthening the Soul (3)